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Everything you wanted to know about Ham Radio
2018-10-22 20:20 |
Admin Registered: 14 years ago Posts: 1,061 |
![]() What is Amateur Radio? The concept of Amateur Radio is communication between people from all over the world. Amateur radio, commonly referred to as Ham Radio consists of enthusiasts, passionate about technical aspects of radio equipment, communication transmission and reception. The hobby begun early 1900's where the first official call signs were issued and handed out. There are almost 700,000 Amateur Radio operators in the USA and over two million in nearly every country in the world. Ham radio operators use two-way radio stations from their homes, cars, boats and outdoors to make hundreds of friends around town and around the world. They communicate with each other using voice, computers, and Morse code. Some hams bounce their signals off the upper regions of the atmosphere, so they can talk with hams on the other side of the world. Other hams use satellites. Many use hand-held radios that fit in their pockets. Please read on to know a little more about this wonderful hobby. The License ![]() Requiring an Amateur Radio license essentially requires that you learn which frequency bands are available for amateur radio and agree not to use other frequencies. It also requires that you learn radio etiquette so your operation on the amateur bands won't interfere with other amateurs. Exams are usually administered by volunteer examiners, generally a group of friendly Ham Radio operator from a local Ham Radio club. Exam sessions are held regularly all across the world and the licenses are issued by the communications department in your country. There are popular ham radio license study guides online to help you learn the things you'll need to pass your exam and have fun with Amateur Radio. Self-study - It doesn't seem right to tell you about going it alone, because then you're not doing it all by yourself! Taking a class or having an Elmer is a far better way to get your license; and when you pass your test you will already have friends to talk to. When you're ready to take your exam, you'll need to locate an exam session near you. At the end of the classes, a test is given. If you pass, you're a licensed ham! There are usually different levels of licenses and requirements are more involved the higher the license. The operator should know the basic radio theory but for higher level exams, there are usually technically difficult radio theory questions. The "Shack" ![]() Call signs ![]() Amateur radio call signs are allocated to amateur radio operators around the world. The call signs are used to legally identify the station or operator. Today the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates call sign prefixes for radio and television stations of all types. Since 1927 these have been used to uniquely identify operators and locate amateur stations within a geographical region or country of the world. The Transceiver ![]() Antennas ![]() ![]() Log book ![]() ![]() QSL Cards The term QSL comes from the radio "Q" code meaning "I confirm reception", and purpose of a QSL card is to confirm a contact. The cards themselves are normally post card sized, many being colourful and very attractive. Quite a few have photographs of the ham radio station, the operator or the area in which he lives, and this makes them very interesting. The idea for the QSL card dates back to the time when the first long distance amateur radio or ham radio contacts were being made on the short wave bands. Initially the ham radio stations exchanged letters to confirm a contact, but the idea for a pre-printed card soon arose. It is not certain which was the first QSL card, or the first station to use them, but the idea soon caught on. Today ham radio operators send QSL cards for a variety of reasons. It is interesting to collect them. Having made contact with a particular ham radio station it is often nice to have a card from them to remember the contact. It may be a particularly interesting contact, or one with a rare country where few ham radio operators are active. Electronic QSL cards can be sent through systems like eQSL or HamSphere. Here a few cards sent electronically via the HamSphere Log book: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Elmers Elmers - An elmer is the ham equivalent of a "Yoda." Many new hams are taught by other hams. (Helping people is a common thread throughout the ham radio hobby.) An elmer knows the stuff you need to pass your test and will help you prepare. While an elmer can not give the FCC examination, he or she will be in touch with other hams in your area and know where public examinations are held. Elmers welcome new members to the Ham Radio hobby. Clubs ![]() Many clubs organize meetings and classes to teach the basic skills of radio operation and prepare people for their ham radio license test. Getting started in Amateur Radio has never been easier. First, locate a radio club in your area. Some radio clubs offer ham radio licensing classes, or they can find a club volunteer to answer your questions. You may even be invited to attend a local radio club meeting. Communication modes ![]() Morse code Morse code is the original communication mode and it is more than 140 years old. It was developed by Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail in the 1840s. Ham Radio uses Continuous wave (CW) to transmit Morse code. It is a character set consisting of short and long keyed tones in a sequence. Analog voice Decades after the CW radio carriers with Morse symbols, radio technology evolved several methods of analog modulating radio carriers such as: amplitude, frequency and phase modulation by analog waveforms. Ham Radio operators use mostly these modulation techniques: Amplitude modulation (AM) Double Sideband Suppressed Carrier (DSB-SC) Single Sideband (SSB) Frequency modulation (FM) Digital modes Amateur television, also known as Fast Scan television (ATV) Slow-scan television (SSTV) Text and data, digital modes: AMTOR, MT63, FSK441, JT6M, JT65, and FT8, PSK31, RTTY, Olivia MFSK, Packet radio (AX25), APRS Most amateur digital modes are transmitted by inserting audio into the microphone input of a radio and using an analog scheme, such as amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM), or single-sideband modulation (SSB). Digital voice Digital voice modes encode speech into a data stream before transmitting it such as P25, D-STAR, DMR, Fusion, NXDN etc Ham Radio frequencies Amateur radio frequency allocation is done by national telecommunications authorities. Globally, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) oversees how much radio spectrum is set aside for amateur radio transmissions. Individual amateur stations are free to use any frequency within authorized frequency ranges; authorized bands may vary by the class of the station license. Frequencies between 0.1-30MHz are normally reflected by the Earth's Ionosphere under certain conditions meaning that distant communication via skywave/skip can be used daytime for frequencies 10-30 MHz and 0.1-10MHz during nights. The table below lists all valid Ham band within the radio spectrum from long wave to millimeter waves. Frequencies above 30 MHz do not normally bounce off the ionosphere unless there is a phenomenon referred to as Sporadic E. VHF/UHF frequencies are usually limited to ground wave conditions set by the Earth's curvature. Here is a table of the ITU standardized Amateur Radio frequencies. Please note that every country has their own implementation/limitation of these frequencies. So please check your local frequency allocations before you start transmitting. ![]() Ham Radio codes Q-Codes ![]() RST ![]() ITU Phonetic Alphabet ![]() The International Telecommunications Union, ITU has adopted a phonetic alphabet for use with radio transmissions. Also called the International Phonetic Alphabet, this one has been adopted by other organisations including NATO. The radio phonetic alphabet is widely used for radio communications, and also even for communications over the telephone lines and the like. Calling CQ ![]() Your first contact or conversation (QSO) can be quite daunting. For that reason it might be a good idea to arrange a QSO with a friend, or someone else on the bands. That way it will be less stressful and if you make a mistake it doesn’t really matter. First thing to do is make sure your radio is set up properly – that it is on the right mode, that you have the microphone gain set correctly and you have selected the right amount of power. Generally, we should use the minimum amount of power required to guarantee a good contact. To conduct a voice QSO you have two choices: You can call “CQ” or you can answer someone who is calling CQ. A CQ is simply a general call to no one in particular. It is the traditional way of seeking random contacts. Before calling CQ it’s important to find a frequency that is not occupied by any other station. This may not be easy, particularly in crowded band conditions. Always listen before transmitting. Make sure the frequency isn’t being used before you go barging in. If, after a reasonable time, the frequency seems clear, ask “Is this frequency in use?”, followed by your call sign. So, “Is the frequency in use? This is SM9XYZ.” If nobody replies, you’re clear to call. The CQ calling procedure ![]() If a station comes back to you say: “K1ABC (or whatever) K1ABC, this is Sierra Mike Nine Xray Yankee Zulu. Good evening/day, your report is 59 (or whatever it is), my name is Peter – Papa Echo Tango Echo Romeo – and my QTH is Ystad – Yankee Sierra Tango Alpha Delta” Note that you do not need to spell things out phonetically more than once. Except when more difficult propagation. If your are lucky, they should come back to you with your report, their name and QTH. At this point you have two choices – you can go on to give them a few more details about your station, such as the radio, power and antenna. But with many QSOs you may find that the other station wishes you 73 and goes away – it usually means that English is not their first language. If they do speak good English you can always tell them a little about yourself and your local area and ask them about theirs. Or you could tell them what clubs you are a member of – there is a whole host of topics you can use. Conduct yourself as though anyone in the world might be listening at any time. Whenever you transmit, you’re representing all of the amateur radio community and your country so act accordingly. At the end of the QSO wish the other station “73” – which is the Q code for best wishes – and say you are now QRT (have closed down). Emergency communication ![]() Unlike commercial systems, Amateur radio is usually independent of terrestrial facilities that can fail. It is dispersed throughout a community without "choke points" such as cellular telephone sites that can be overloaded. Amateur radio operators are experienced in improvising antennas and power sources and most equipment today can be powered by an automobile battery. Annual "Field Days" are held in many countries to practice these emergency improvisational skills. Amateur radio operators can use hundreds of frequencies and can quickly establish networks tying disparate agencies together to enhance interoperability. ![]() JOTA - Jamboree On The Air Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is the amateur radio element of JOTA-JOTI, with Scouts all over the world speaking to each other by means of amateur radio. Scouting experiences are exchanged and ideas are shared via radio waves. It is an international Scouting and Guiding activity held annually on the third full weekend in October. First held in conjunction with the fiftieth anniversary of Scouting in 1957, it was devised by Leslie R. Mitchell, a radio amateur with the callsign G3BHK. JOTI stands for Jamboree On The Internet. Radio wave propagation Shortwave Ham Radio communication relies upon the refraction of signals from layers of gas hundreds of kilometers above the Earth's surface (known as the ionosphere)! These layers of gas are 'excited' when the Sun shines on them, changing their characteristics: some of them become more reflective to radio signals when subject to solar radiation whereas some start to absorb radio signals. This is why some short-wave frequencies are good for night-time reception and others for the day-time. Sunset and sunrise present some other interesting opportunities as both the night-time and day-time layers of ionization begin to swap over. This complex interplay of radio signals and layers of the Earth's atmosphere is usually termed 'propagation'. ![]() Propagation prediction ![]() Grayline operation ![]() "Gray line" happens at dawn and dusk, following the north-south path. Since you are on a single point of the globe and are moving, the time-frame is short. Transmitting east-west is not gray line. The D layer is thin-to none, while the F2 layer is still fairly strong, giving you long distance hops. 30 Meters is probably the best band to try this on. Meteor scatter Meteor scatter communications has been used by ham radio VHF enthusiasts for many years. Using meteor scatter propagation enables ham radio and also commercial radio communications contacts to be made over distances up to about 2000 km on the VHF bands As the name suggests, meteor scatter propagation relies on the vast numbers of meteors that enter the earth’s atmosphere each day. Most are very small, often the size of a pebble or even a grain sand. At times the numbers of meteors increase when there is a meteor shower - these occur at specific times during the year. During these showers, amateur radio meteor scatter enthusiasts are able to make considerably more contacts. Tropospheric scatter (TrS) An almost ever-present condition that brings in distant fluttery signals beyond normal line-of-sight. Scattering of the signals occurs in contact with discontinuities in the troposphere. These discontinuities can be small temperature or humidity variations, such as can be found around cloud layers, individual clouds, updrafts, downdrafts, the tropopause (the boundary between the troposphere and the stratosphere), small particles and droplets such as drizzle, mist, haze, dust, smoke, volcanic ash, etc., or even flocks of birds and large swarms of insects. Tropospheric ducting (TrD) The "Ducting" effects occur primarily because of temperature inversions at a height of between 500m and 1500m, and occasionally up to 3000m. Signals that reflect off of a water surface instead (ocean/lake) retain much more strength. In some cases Ham Operators can work over 1000km on VHF/UHF via ducting. Field Days ![]() ![]() To determine the effectiveness of the exercise and of each participant's operations, there is an integrated contesting component, and many clubs also engage in concurrent leisure activities (camping out, cookouts, etc.). Operations typically last a continuous twenty-four hours, requiring scheduled relief operators to keep stations on the air. Additional contest points are awarded for experimenting with unusual modes, making contacts via satellite, and involving youth in the activity. Hamfests ![]() Hamfests are events organized by amateur radio enthusiasts, for social gathering and promotion of the amateur radio hobby. Hamfests offer exhibits, forums, and fleamarkets for Amateur Radio operators. In the United Kingdom the term rally is more commonly used for amateur radio conventions. "Hamfests" were noted as early as 1924 in the USA. The Dayton Hamvention in the US is generally considered to be the world's largest hamfest in the world. It is held each May. The International Exhibition for Radio Amateurs known as HAM RADIO in Friedrichshafen, Germany, is Europe's largest and most well-known hamfest (17,080 visitors in 2015) which includes a trade show and "youth days". The first HAM RADIO took place in 1976 with 62 exhibitors. Contesting Ham Radio Contests Contesting is a competition for amateur radio operators. In a contest, an amateur radio station, which may be operated by an individual or a team, seeks to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible in a given period of time and exchange information. Rules for each competition define the amateur radio bands, the mode of communication that may be used, and the kind of information that must be exchanged. The contacts made during the contest contribute to a score by which stations are ranked. Contest sponsors publish the results in magazines and on web sites. An exchange of information is necessary during each contact. You may be required to send and receive a serial number, location, name or even a person’s age. ![]() There are hundreds of Amateur Radio contests to chose from every year and you can always find a contest that suits your specific Ham Radio activity whether it is CW, SSB or other modes. Fox Hunts Fox hunting or actually ARDF (Amateur Radio Direction Finding) is a more "technically correct" is a fun sport where small transmitters are hidden usually in a forest area. There is an international standard calls for up to five hidden transmitters making brief transmissions in rotation. Each transmitter sends audible tones: first the Morse Code letters M (dah-dah) and O (dah-dah-dah), followed by a letter E (dit), I (dit dit), S (dit dit dit), H (dit dit dit dit), or 5 (dit dit dit dit dit). The hunter listens for the number of "dits", one through five, and knows which transmitter's signal is being received. ![]() ![]() You will find fox hunts organized by Ham Radio clubs most weekend, in cities and towns all across the world. Ham Radio operators gather on hilltops for the Fox Hunt contest. Sound simple? It can be very challenging and a whole lot of fun. The direction finding skills learned in this activity can be very valuable in locating a repeater jammer, or a lost hiker. QRP Operation In amateur radio, QRP operation refers to transmitting at reduced power while attempting to maximize one's effective range. The term QRP derives from the standard Q code used in radio communications, where "QRP" and "QRP?" are used to request, "Reduce power", and ask "Should I reduce power?" respectively. The opposite of QRP is QRO, or high-power operation. Some believe that the power should be no more than 10 watts peak envelope power (PEP), while others strongly hold that the power limit should be 5 watts. QRPers are known to use even less than five watts, sometimes operating with as little as 100 milliwatts or even less. Extremely low power—1 watt and below—is often referred to by hobbyists as QRPp. ![]() Amplitude Modulation ![]() Continuous wave - CW ![]() If you want to learn Morse code you should start by understanding that it will take DAILY practice. If you skip a day or two in your study to learn Morse Code, it will be similar to "taking 2 steps backwards, and 1 step forward". The net gain will be a deficit. There are 2 major ways to learn CW: the Koch method and the Farnsworth method. The Koch method is to learn the CW characters at the desired speed you wish to use it on the radio. You start off with 2 characters and once you have about 90% recognition you add another character. The Farnsworth method keeps a high character speed and spaces the word speed out. By this the sounds, or elements (the dits and dahs) of the individual characters are sent at an approximate speed that you might hear from others in use on the radio. Download a software program called NuMorse at www.nu-ware.com This program is actually shareware, but will work just fine to teach you the Morse code characters. Awards and Certificates ![]() Islands On The Air (IOTA) IOTA ® is an award program for radio amateurs interested in making contacts with stations located on islands worldwide. IOTA is ® trademark and managed by Islands On The Air (IOTA) Ltd. for the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) Summits On The Air (SOTA) SOTA is an amateur radio operating award program launched in Great Britain in 2002. SOTA's aim is to encourage licensed amateur radio operators to operate temporarily from mountainous locations,[2] combining hiking and mountain climbing with operating their amateur radio station from the summits of hills and mountains. Mills On The Air For many years, in the U.K., the events of this weekend have been shared with amateur radio stations and became known as the ‘Mills on the Air’ weekend. This event has proved to be an excellent way to advertise the hobby of amateur radio to the many members of the public who visit the mills and pumping stations. Lighthouses On The Air (LOTA) This is usually an annual amateur radio event where Ham Radio operators have QSOs from lighthouses around the world but could also be run as special events. There are about 50 different lighthouse awards around the world the Ham Radio operators can qualify for. Railways On The Air (ROTA) Railways on the air (ROTA) weekend usually takes place every year on the weekend closest to the 27th September in the UK. Ragchewing ![]() Nets A Ham Radio net is a gathering of amateur radio operators on the air.. Most nets take place on a regular schedule and specific frequency and are organized for a particular purpose, such as discussing a common topic of interest, relaying messages, emergencies, or simply as a regular gathering of friends for conversation. The net is like a chat room of the airwaves where one person talks at a time. The operator who are in the position of "Net Control" dictates whose turn it is to speak. This reduces the risk of multiple people talking simultaneously. There are two kinds of nets, formal and informal. Formal nets meet with the purpose of discussing for example, traffic nets that will handle formal written traffic like practicing emergency communications. It is rare to hear someone talking private things during a formal net as that is best suited outside the net. Informal nets operate with a little more flexibility. It could be the topic of the day and some fun trivia. It offers local operators an opportunity to share their daily stories with everyone and have a little fun. Some informal nets might offer help to new hams, where local operators can contribute. Nets can be found of both HF and VHF/UHF. Local Nets are usually performed on repeaters or on 80m HF band where it is easy to communicate shorter distances. Home brew ![]() ![]() SSTV - Slow Scan Television ![]() The SSTV community is quite big and many Ham operators enjoy this mode. The pictures can be transferred relatively well even in bad and noise conditions. Today there are many good software for SSTV where the most polular one is MMSSTV by JE3HHT - Makoto Mori. SSTV can be sent via different modes such as Scotty, Martin, Robot etc. The software usually detects the mode automatically. The picture above is showing MMSSTV in action used by M3ONL receiving a picture from F6HHO. HF/VHF/UHF FM Repeaters ![]() Some repeaters need a short burst of 1750 Hz tone to open the repeater. The FM repeater activity has however declined worldwide and most of the traffic is now carried via Digital Ham Radio DMR instead. But the paradoxical thing is that many repeaters are now D-Star enabled so they serve even Digital DMR radio. Many repeaters have also been connected in the Echolink network for many years. Microwave operation ![]() ![]() A key feature of microwaves is that the higher antenna gains can give considerable distance but do have narrower beamwidths. Therefore being able to repeatably point the antenna in a known direction becomes important. Beacons are a vital resource on the microwave bands, providing frequency references, direction references and propagation indicators. In addtion to standard reference information, a useful resource is the Beaconspot website which extracts beacon reports from the DX cluster and maps their reception distances. Moonbounce/EME ![]() ![]() ![]() Satellite Communications Ham Radio satellites have bent sent up in space since the 60's. The most famous ones are the OSCAR satellites where the oldest active satellite is OSCAR 7. It was launched in 1974 and it is still active. Satellites have an uplink and a downlink usually on 2m or 70cm. One of the most popular satellites to use is OSCAR 50 or SO-50 as it is called. The original name is Saudisat 1C that was launched from Russia in 2002. It works as an FM repeater using FM modulation. It is operating on 145.850 MHz uplink and 436.795 MHz downlink. There are many YouTube videos demonstrating the SO-50 in action and it is relatively easy to make QSOs through it. Maritime Mobile ![]() Because HF Radio operates over a longer range than VHF Radio it is highly suitable for long range communication between groups of cruising sailors who may be spaced far apart over the oceans. There are a number of HF Radio Nets for marine use are set up and run by "controllers" all over the world (Indian Ocean, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Pacific, etc.) to handle and co-ordinate this traffic from vessels sailing the oceans. It is important for cruising yachts to know these radio net frequencies and times so as to pass message traffic, log positions, receive weather information, etc. Amateur Radio on International Space Station (ARISS) ![]() Mobile operation ![]() ![]() Selecting the right mobile antenna for HF radio applications is utterly crucial, as it is what enables effective transmission and reception. One of the problems with HF mobile operation, especially on 160, 80 or 40 Meters is antenna efficiency. The base loading coil has to be mounted on a strong enough mount to take the normal flexing seen during mobile operation. Typically, the spring for the whip mount would be above the coil, allowing the whip to move without putting undue stress on the coil. Remote Ham Radio Over recent years in the wake of VOIP technology, a new phenomenon has surfaced within the Ham Radio hobby namely Remote Ham Radio stations. Operators around the world offer their hardware, rigs, amplifiers and antennas to be remotely controlled by other Ham operators. This is usually done by commercial interests and offers a possibility for operators to experince state of the art setups with kilowatts of powers and massive beam antennas. The biggest provider is called RemoteHamRadio.com and they offer “Time-share” remote stations in different locations. ![]() It is fairly easy to setup your own remotely controlled Ham station with existing hardware and interfacing provided by for example RemoteRig.com. For example you could remotely control your Ham shack from your summer house or your mobile. The possibilities are endless. Remote operating is becoming very popular. More radios support it, more software is available, and high-speed Internet is available in more places than ever. You’ll have the option of building a traditional home station and be able to operate it from wherever you are. Some clubs and informal groups build and share a remote station. This is an exciting time! Grid locators ![]() DXpeditions ![]() ![]() DX Clusters ![]() A DX Cluster is a means for Amateur (Ham) Radio operators to tell each other, in realtime, about DX stations (other interesting or rare Amateur Radio stations all over the world). The DX Cluster is a world wide network of connected computers where users are logged in and placing "DX spots". A DX spot is a piece of information sent from one station to every other one logged in on the DX Cluster, in real time. First the operator log in to the DX Cluster with its call sign. The columns are usually: Spotter, frequency, DX Station, additional information, time and locator. The spotter is the station who put the spot or announce on the DX Cluster, and the locator is the locator of the spotter. The biggest and most reliable DX Cluster has been the DXSummit (www.dxsummit.fi). This renowned DX Summit by OH8X has been a reliable source of current and historical DX activity on radio for many years. The True Ham Radio Spirit ![]() Amateur Radio creates Lifelong friendships and gives you the opportunity to go interesting places you might not otherwise go to It also gives you the opportunity to do interesting things you might not otherwise get to do. Such as: * Ham radio expands your knowledge of geography * Ham Radio expands your knowledge of earth and space science. * Sometimes it needs uses for high school math or high school physics. * It is a good way to practice a foreign language * The ultimate way to keep in touch with faraway friends and relatives. * Ham Radio gives you the thrill of discussing virtually any topic and it bridges the generation gap * Using Amateur Radio is a good way to keep tabs on elderly/infirm people * Ham Radio is an informal way to improve technical and communication skills * Amateur Radio introduces a variety of career paths and networking SDR Transceivers ![]() Many of these come as kits, where you can build them yourself. Once you have your SDR hardware running you can connect the software. There are plenty of SDR software around compatible with the mentioned hardware such as PowerSDR and Winrad. The key component of SDR is the ADC (analog-to-digital converter) which is hardware based. ![]() To the left: Picture of the PowerSDR software in action using Flexradio. PowerSDR is produced by FlexRadio to work with their SDR devices but it has been ported to support other external ADCs such as Mercury and Excalibor boards. Digital Ham Radio communication platforms ![]() Since the development of VOIP (Voice over IP = Internet) Amateur Radio has evolved, especially in the times of low propagation caused by the non existing sun spots. Nowadays you will find clever Radio/Internet combinations such as D-Star, Fusion, C4FM, P25, DMR (Digital Mobile Network), EchoLink, IRLP etc. These communications are always done through a combination of using a real Ham Radio band and the Internet. The two biggest DMR networks are called BrandMeister(TM) and DMR-Marc using the Motorola TRBO protocol. In the world of DMR, there are two ways to gain access to the now worldwide network. One is a repeater, the other is using a Hot Spot. Which method is best is determined by several factors. The Brandmeister Network is the commonly associated with Hot Spot operation, while the DMR-MARC network is associated more with repeater operation. Some operators create "homebrew" DMR hotspots using so called DVMega modules. Usually consisting of a Raspberry Pi 3 computer and the DVMega RPI single-band UHF radio module. The outputs of these spots are usually very low like 10 mWatts using the 70cm band. But isn't there any Digital Ham Radio systems without using radio waves? Probably not. Today we are using our lap-tops and mobile phone and they are usually connected via wireless WIFI or 3G/4G mobile Internet so everything is radio. There are a few systems that do not require a real Ham Band to carry the voice. These are HamSphere, FRN (Free Radio Network) and CQ100 etc. Do I have to be licensed or have a permit to do Ham Radio ![]() OK. But what if I don't want the fuzz about bulky transceivers, antennas, licenses or radio in general but still want to talk to Ham Radio operators or enthusiast. What can I do? Well, then it sort of boils down to two systems, FRN (Free Radio Network) and HamSphere. ![]() FRN This system allows any operator, licensed or unlicensed to communicate in a Ham Radio way within the FRN network with just a PC or Android client. The network consists of both radio interfaced units and PC clients using gateways re-transmit the received signal. Clusters of gateways can create so called Nets. All communication is using VOIP. HamSphere ![]() This system is based on two networks; HamSphere 3.0 and HamSphere 4.0. It allows licensed Ham Radio operators as well as unlicensed radio enthusiasts to communicate with each other. Both systems consist of 15 simulated shortwave bands and communication is done using client/server base. The product encourages unlicensed enthusiasts to get their own license. There is a significant difference between the two networks where the more advanced HamSphere 4.0 is a modular system where the operators design their own transceivers and communicate using NEC designed antennas (Numerical Electromagnetics Code) and realistic shortwave propagation. The 3.0 platform is targeting mostly beginners. HamSphere is subscriber funded and offers a 30 day trial. The subscription can be either 3 months or 1 year, recurring or non-recurring and costs less than 10 cents per day. For more info on HamSphere subscriptions, click here! ![]() |
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